Black Caviar has grabbed everyone's imagination with this incredible run

28-04-2012

Peter Moody From: Herald Sun April 27, 2012

SOMEONE reminded me the other day that Black Caviar's unbeaten winning streak has seen her eclipse the mighty deeds of champions such as Phar Lap, Carbine, Bernborough and Ajax.

All those great horses are entwined in our folklore: they all racked up huge winning sprees and they all had an impact beyond the boundaries of racing.

Now Black Caviar is on the cusp of owning a chunk of our national pride.

I'm just so glad she has the chance to claim the Australian record for consecutive wins on Australian soil, not somewhere overseas.

Australians deserve to see her race to make history tomorrow, with her 20th victory in a row. She's their horse, their champion.

I'd be lying if I said I'm not enormously proud of her and all those who've been associated with her - "Trumby" (jockey Luke Nolen), Tony Haydon (stable foreman), Donna Fisher (strapper), Paddy Bell (track rider), Michael Bryant (chiropractor), Peter Angus (vet), Matty Martin (farrier), Peter Clarke (pre-training at Murchison) and everyone else involved at the stable.

They're all an integral part of this great mare and her never-ending story.

One of the racing journos asked me where Black Caviar sits in the pantheon of Australian racing and sporting history. That's for others to judge. I'd be too biased to give an objective view.

Some say she has been a protected species, taking on lesser opposition in small fields and only running over a sprinter's distance.

People can say what they like. What can't be denied is that she's built this unbelievable record over the past three years.

She is the greatest horse I've trained and probably the greatest horse I will train. She is such a great athlete, and that's what I call her, an athlete.

Growing up on a sheep and cattle farm at Wyandra - there was a pub, general store, school and a population of about 25 - about 800km west of Brisbane, there's always been horses, racehorses, in my life.

But how could anyone imagine a horse like Black Caviar coming into their life.

People talk about this magic carpet ride and it's hard to properly measure it, simply because it's unparalleled for me, all those associated with her and the racing industry.

For me, the significance of Black Caviar is that she's transcended the sport. She has touched people like few other horses.

A woman flew all the way from the States just to see her race at Caulfield earlier in the year. That in itself is staggering. Every day I receive letters and emails from school kids to grown-ups, people from all walks of life just wanting to share their experiences.

She has put bums on seats, taken racing to the forefront of Australian sport and put us on the front page for all the right reasons.

She's cut into the Australian Open, AFL and Test matches. Who would have thought?

She has grabbed everyone's imagination. The aura of her invincibility, this incredible unbeaten run, draws people, new fans to her every time she races.

Now that "Nelly" is going to Adelaide, a state with such a great racing history - the starting point for Bart Cummings, Colin Hayes and John Hawkes, three iconic turf figures - you can sense excitement from the South Australians.

They're all making an effort to see this truly great horse. It is already a sell-out at Morphettville and that's mind boggling in itself.

To bump off two greats, Desert Gold and Gloaming, who have jointly held the record for more than 90 years and go past Zenyatta, one of the world's champion mares, to be 20 from 20, is something I have to pinch myself about.

This boy from Wyandra is humbled to be a part of this truly great Australian story.